1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to lubricating devices, and in particular, to devices for lubricating running wire ropes in elevator shafts and the like.
2. Prior Art
In order to reduce the friction of strands of wire ropes on each other as they pass around sheaves or drums, and also to protect the metal from rusting, the wire ropes must frequently be lubricated. Lubrication also serves to reduce wear on the sheaves.
It is common practice to apply lubricant directly to wire ropes by means of hand-held brushes which are frequently dipped in the lubricant. This is, however, a time consuming operation and, furthermore, usually results in some portions of the wire ropes being over-lubricated and others being under-lubricated.
Due to the speed with which wire ropes pass over sheaves and the like, liquid lubricants applied thereto tend to be thrown off by centrifugal force, consequently, it has long been recognized that the ropes should be provided with lubricants continuously during their operation. To this end, lubricators have been devised for automatically applying the lubricant to the wire ropes during the operation thereof. Lubricators developed for this purpose usually have a container carrying a supply of lubricant which is secured adjacent the wire ropes and which is arranged to continuously feed lubricant onto the ropes as they run. In the main, such lubricators have usually had a wick against which the ropes rub and which apply the lubricant during the operation of the elevator. Most of these lubricators utilize a clamp which fixes the wick in the position adjacent the rope, however, clamps used for this purpose have not provided free flow of lubricant through the wick nor have they been devised so as to permit easy and quick adjustment of the wick as it wears out under the rubbing action of the ropes.